The Federal Aviation Administration will soon decide if the activity at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport merits continuing to have an air traffic control tower.
The agency is conducting the review because its contract with the private business that runs the tower expires in October 2020. If the FAA concludes Lewiston still needs a tower, it will advertise the job for bids.
The evaluation by the FAA involves a variety of factors, including the airport’s location, how difficult it is for pilots to take off and land, and the volume of commercial, military, cargo, charter and general aviation flight traffic.
A little more than 29,000 passengers left on Lewiston flights in 2017, with 6,849 passengers on outgoing flights in the first four months of that year. That compares with 8,472 total passengers for January, February, March and April of this year.
Military aircraft used Lewiston anywhere from a dozen times to twice a month in the first part of this year. (Lewiston Tribune)
